What passionate Beatles fan wouldn’t want to cook with the lads? This paper-fiber apron, 16” wide x 30” long with drawstring ties, let fans bring the Fab Four into the kitchen. Manufactured with reinforced stitching and a repeating band portrait print, it remains one of the more fragile surviving textile pieces from the era.

The red TWA travel bag with “The Beatles 'To The USA' August 1965” printed on it became a famous souvenir from the band’s second trip to America. Trans World Airlines (TWA) made these bags just for the Beatles’ flight (TWA Flight 703) from London to New York on August 13, 1965—these were never sold in stores.

“Follow the sun” took on a whole new meaning with the official Beatles Beach Hat — cotton twill, flocked with the band’s faces and facsimile autographs, and licensed through a chain running from Kangol in the U.K. through Puritan Fashions in the U.S. One phone call from February 10, 1964, the day after Sullivan, locked in the sublicense — and a $1,000 down payment.

The perfect way to dry off after a day of Beatlemania at the beach: a 35”x66” cotton terry towel featuring hand-drawn sketches of the band in vintage striped Victorian bathing suits, based on photos band photographer Dezo Hoffmann took on July 27, 1963. NEMS-licensed and manufactured by Windsor Textile Co. of Chicago, it made its way to consumers via Cannon Mills’ Towel Decorators — proof and “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” printed right on the terrycloth.

Chasing the Fab Four across the globe was hungry work — good thing the Beatle Belt was there to cinch up those suddenly-roomy trousers. Dame Belt & Bag, Seltaeb’s third licensee, ran through a surprising range of designs — soft black leather with metal medallions, plastic-and-brass loop belts, cord versions with vinyl or silhouette medallions, even vinyl belts in red and blue with the Fab Four’s faces on the buckle.

Going over Beatles buttons and pins could take up pages and pages in any book. These items came in every color, shape, style, size, and version you could imagine, known as ‘buttons,’ ‘pins,’ ‘pin-back buttons,’ etc. We’ll tackle this fantastic collection of items the best we can. Examining the licensing of Beatles buttons in the mid-Sixties is a daunting task. Many buttons were produced, but only a handful were ‘licensed.’

This squeeze-open coin purse from New Items Company Inc. (1964) came in red or black thick plastic and featured Beatles headshots and facsimile autographs. Genuine originals have rounded bottom edges and white-ink graphics; reproductions—common in red, black, blue, and purple—have square corners, black-print graphics, and a hidden metal clasp, unlike the originals' thicker, clasp-free construction.

Ben Cooper Company's 1964 flannel-and-rayon costumes, masks painted by artist Frank Romano, let kids trick-or-treat as any of the Fab Four — though shipping boxes always held 5 Paul, 4 Ringo, 2 George, and just 1 John, making his costume the rarest today. Per Nat Cooper's son Ira, the colorful smock design wasn't mandated by the licensor— just a bet that bright stripes would outsell a dull suit on store shelves.

Best known for sports games, Subbuteo pivoted in 1964 to hand sculptor Charles Stadden eight days to craft 2½” figures of the band for “The Pop Stars In Miniature Series.” The UK got standing plastic figures; the U.S. got pin-back versions sold as “Beatles Official Pins,” complete with countertop display cards. UK sales flopped — killing plans for similar Cilla Black or Dave Clark Five figures — but American teens made the pins a hit.

These white cotton-stretch crew socks featured black-and-red top stripes and a 1½” square with headshots of all four Beatles, plus printed foot text confirming “Made Exclusively For SELTAEB, Inc.” Packaged in clear plastic with a cardboard insert whose photos could be cut into wallet-sized keepsakes, they sold for around $1 a pair, advertised separately for boys and girls in sizes ranging from 7 to 13.

Even in Venezuela, you could find Beatlemania! This 1965 newspaper ad advertised licensed Beatles wigs imported from the United States.